7.30 pm
Before: How I used to live?
- I used to have my evenings F-U-L-L of housework, hobbies, exercising and social life. And work.
- I felt myself so exhausted by 7 pm that children´s evening routines were pure pain for me. I didn´t enjoy everyday evenings at all and I was a cranky lady.
Changes: What changes I´ve made to my life since I started to pay more attention to my wellbeing and simplify my life?
- I´ve learned to simplify our everyday evenings. Evenings go by fast and routines take time anyway. That´s why there´s no point of trying to do too much. I invest in quality. Quality to me is evening routines without a hurry and having a small relaxing moments together as a family.
- I´ve realized the cold fact that often it’s me, and no one else, who’s responsible of having too much in my life. I want to do too many things, do things perfectly, do all by myself. I´ve changed these behavior patterns and learned to A) want less, B) set the bar lower and C) ask for help.
- I´ve learned to use my energy better. First and foremost I try to keep up the balance between work, play, rest and sleep. As a mother I need to have energy left also for the last minute of the evening, not only for my work. I need energy and patience for feeding the children, brushing their teeth and putting them to bed.
- I´ve learned to add coziness to our home. With little things, like candle light, music or having sauna, you can easily add some quality to your everyday evenings.
- I´ve learned some relaxation and mindfulness techniques. If our girls are cranky, I can calm myself down only with one or two deep and peaceful breath. That´s one useful skill for a working mother!
After: What kind of positive effects I´ve noticed now that I´ve been able to get closer to Living Simply.
- I enjoy my everyday life more: Better balance in life and less hurry and stress. That´s the quality of life. More quality means being more present in your life and enjoying it more. Simplifying is the key!
- I´m more satisfied with myself as a mother, a wife and a woman: The more tired I am, the worse mother I feel myself. But when I have energy to go through the children’s evening routines with a smile and patience I feel the opposite. When I have energy to do nice things for my husband and myself I feel like a superwoman, mother and wife. Oh, how important those moments are to my feminine self-esteem and self-satisfaction!
- I get more out of my everyday life: The less haste you have in your life, the more time and energy you have to experience your life with all of your senses. More time to listen to your child’s funny stories, see the beauty of the autumn evening, smell the scent of evening tea, feel the touch of your spouse. That´s why it´s worth to want less. Because that´s the way to get more quality and depth to your life.
Next time you can read about ways to sleep better.
Click to read the On the way to Simple Living: Intro.
Read all posts from my post series called On the way to Simple Living.
